World’s Longest Beer Garden Opens in Berlin

Berlin, the German capital city, on Friday launched a weekend of beer-drinking at the International Beer Festival at the Central boulevard.

This comes as city officials look to contain sustained summer temperatures over 30 degrees Celsius.

The “world’s longest beer garden,’’ as the organisers dub it, stretches along the Karl Marx Allee between Strausberger Platz and Frankfurter Tor and runs until Sunday.

Organisers estimate that a total of 2,400 beers from 350 breweries from around the world including focus country New Zealand, hence this year’s motto “Beers from the other side of the world’’ will be on offer.

But beer isn’t the only attraction on display as live music at 19 stages along the route is expected to draw more than 800,000 visitors to the festival.

The temperatures have prompted doctors to urge caution. “Alcohol enters the bloodstream more quickly in the heat,” Peter Sefrin, an emergency doctor with the German Red Cross, said.

The more alcohol a drink contains, the more striking the effect; alcohol also reaches the brain more quickly in the heat, affecting concentration and allowing euphoria to take hold.

“A typical consequence is impaired self-awareness. This often leads to an overestimation of one’s abilities and arrogance: People often do things they would never do otherwise,’’ Sefrin said.